Monday of the Second Week in Advent
Intention: That all people will hear in the story of the birth of the Christ Child the call to increase our attention to the needs of children throughout the world.
Today’s Gospel | Luke 5:17-26
One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set [him] in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
A Reflection for the Second Monday of Advent
The saga of humanity’s relationship with God is filled with moments in which God leads his people through trials and loss and on to peace and restoration. For many, the most striking examples of these are the miracles of Jesus. The scenes of Jesus’ healings and even resurrections are certainly awe-inspiring in and of themselves. However, we must take care that they are about much more. Jesus’ miracles were an awakening, one in which people were confronted with the living presence of the Kingdom of God. They showed us the heart and hand of a God who had broken into our time and space and was nearer to us than we had ever imagined. Matt Chandler wrote, “Without a heart transformed by the grace of Christ, we just continue to manage external and internal darkness.” We were made by grace for grace. We are called to turn away from fear and faithlessness and to say yes to the good news of the possibilities of wholeness that live in each of us. The time of Advent is a time to remember not just to wonder at God’s light and love, but to see what it reveals and to follow where it leads.
Prayer
Eternal Father, our world is filled with goodness, but in it there still are false paths that can lead us away from you. The temptations of faithlessness and selfishness are all around us. But you are aware of our every step, ready to call us and welcome us back. Through your Spirit, inspire us each day to strive to be where we are meant to be. Open our minds and hearts to the truth that dwells within us, and to the work of your hands that lives in our midst. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.